Blood-Bond
A Blood-Bond is created by the ingestion of Vampyric Vitae. A blood-bonded individual are commonly referred to as a Thrall, while the bonding one is called the Domitor or Regent. Creating a Blood-Bond A Blood-Bond is formed when a Vampire, Mortal, or Animal ingest or inject Vampyric Vitae. This can be done up to three times for increased effect, but needs to happend at three seperate nights. A full blood bond, once formed, is nearly inviolate. Once bound, a thrall is under the sway of her regnant and her regnant only. She cannot be bound again by another vampire unless the first blood bond wears away “naturally.” A vampire can experience lesser (one- and-two-drink) bonds toward several individuals. Upon the formation of a full blood bond, though, all lesser sensations are wiped away. Emotional Influence First Drink After the first drink, the bonded displays strong feelings toward the donor. There are no mechanical effects, but the feelings or the battle to suppress them should be roleplayed. Second Drink After the second drink, the thrall's feelings grow strong enough to influence their behavior. Though they is by no means enslaved to the vampire, he is definitely an important figure in her life. The bonded respect the donor and help them out so long as it’s no huge risk or bother. System: Have to make a Willpower roll to take actions directly harmful to the domitor and social rolls against the thrall are at -1 difficulty by the domitor Third Drink The Domitor is the most important person in the thrall's life; lovers, relatives, and even children become secondary to her all-consuming passion. Certain Natures will commit any act, including suicide or murder, for their beloved; other characters have certain core principles that they will not violate. A thrall who is treated well and fed often will likely fall even more deeply in love, while a thrall who is degraded and humiliated may find resentment and anger eating away at the bond. System: A regnant may use the Dominate Discipline on a thrall, even without the benefit of eye contact. Merely hearing the regnant’s voice is enough. Additionally, should the thrall try to resist the Dominate (or similar mental control power) for some reason, the difficulty of such resistance is increased by two. Ghouling A mortal who has ingested Vampiric Vitae and continues to do so on a monthly basis is commonly referred to as a Blood-Servant or by its slurr: Ghoul. In addition to the emotional manipulation of the Blood-Bond, the mortal become possessed of supernatural abilities and dark appetites. Aging A ghoul possesses immunity to aging much like a Vampire, but this is contingent on her supply of vitae. If she misses her monthly feeding, she could be in real trouble. As long as she is still within her natural life span, she resumes normal aging. But if she’s lived from 100 to 250 years, then she begins aging at 10 times the normal rate — a year becomes a decade, and so on. Ghouls who have lived more than 250 years crumble instantly to dust if their supply of vitae falters. Vitae System: In addition to the normal blood in their body, Ghouls can also store Vampiric Vitae up to 2 blood points. Healing Ghouls may heal using their blood pool, just as Kindred do. They can also regenerate limbs, though not automatically. System: To make a regeneration attempt, a ghoul must spend a Willpower point, spend an appropriate number of blood points (one for a finger or eye, two for a foot or forearm, three for an entire limb) and make a Stamina roll (difficulty 8). If the roll fails or is botched, the ghoul may never regrow the limb. Soaking System: Ghouls are able to soak lethal damage just like Vampires as long as they have at least one active (non-spent) point of vampiric vitae in their system, the ghoul can soak lethal just like a vampire. As soon as they've spent their active blood point in their system they can't soak lethal demage until they at least imbibe another point. Disciplines Ghouls have much more difficulty learning Disciplines than Kindred do. The powers passed down from Caine reach their full potency only in his childer; they are alien to mere mortals. System: Generally, a ghoul may learn only those Disciplines known by her most recent “donor.” The exceptions are the physical arts of Celerity, Fortitude, and Potence, which are instinctive enough to be accessible to any ghoul. A ghoul autimatically starts off with a dot in Potence, and can only learn Disciplines of Rank 1. Frenzy While any individual stimulus is relatively unlikely to send a ghoul into frenzy, ghouls experience provocation much more commonly than vampires do. Ghouls’ human natures battle constantly with their Beasts, and most are not given instruction in how to prevent their pseudovampiric natures from taking over. System: Since the Beast is weaker in ghouls, they typically face lower difficulties (usually, a ghoul’s frenzy difficulties are three lower than a vampire’s). In order for a ghoul character to resist frenzy, the ghoul must make a Self-Control roll, the difficulty of which varies. The player must score five successes before frenzy is overcome completely. With each success rolled, frenzy is staved off for one turn. Overdosing Ghouls can take in more vitae than their mortal bodies can comfortably handle, but this often causes dangerous side effects. System: For each point of Stamina a ghoul has, she can “cram” an extra blood point into her body. If a ghoul imbibes more vitae than she can contain, she must make a Stamina check (difficulty 8). If she succeeds, she may use the excess blood normally. If she fails, she suffers one point of lethal damage per blood point above her maximum. Moreover, the excess blood can’t be used. It takes a full scene of vomiting to burn off such “useless” blood points; until this takes place, the ghoul cannot use any blood points whatsoever. While a ghoul is overdosed, her chance to frenzy becomes equal to that of a vampire’s, though certainly the ghoul will not hunger at this point. Reaction time increases (the ghoul temporarily gains a dot in Dexterity), but the overdosed ghoul must make a Perception + Self-Control roll each scene or suffer from violent hallucinations (effects are up to the Storyteller’s discretion). Resisting and Breaking the Blood-Bond Resisting the Bond System: It is possible, though difficult, for a vampire to temporarily resist a blood bond. Doing so requires the player to make a Willpower roll (difficulty is typically 8, though this can be modified depending on the Domitor’s treatment and the thrall’s Nature) and accumulate a number of successes equal to the number of times the thrall has partaken of the Domitor’s blood, to a maximum of difficulty 9.The thrall must then spend a Willpower point. Upon doing so, the bond is negated for a variable amount of time: from one scene (if the thrall merely wishes to plot against the regnant, deliver confidential information to an enemy, etc.) to one turn (if the thrall wishes to attack the regnant physically). The thrall can continue to expend Willpower to extend the duration of “freedom,” but once she ceases doing so, the blood bond resumes at full force. Withdrawal Withdrawn ghouls suffer symptoms for a period of weeks equal to six minus the ghoul’s Stamina. Whenever the opportunity to gain vitae arises, the ghoul must make a Self-Control roll (difficulty 7) or attempt to “score” however possible. Additionally, each week of withdrawal requires the ghoul to make an Intelligence + Self-Control roll (difficulty 6); if this roll fails, the ghoul begins to sublimate her cravings for vitae into a desire for human blood, flesh, or sex. A Willpower point may be spent to resist these cravings. If the roll is botched, no Willpower may be spent, and the victim must act on her urges. Breaking the Bond System: A blood bond can be broken, though this requires the thrall to not only avoid the regnant entirely for an extended period of time, but also spend great amounts of Willpower to overcome the addiction. As a general rule, a thrall who neither sees nor feeds from her regnant for a period of (12 - Willpower) months finds her bond reduced by one level. Another, though somewhat less certain, way to be rid of the bond is to kill the regnant.